11 sites make new list of 'endangered historic places'

After Hurricane Ike slammed into Galveston, Texas, in September, the 12-block Strand Historic District, with its 19th-century buildings and their elaborate cast-iron storefronts, was awash in 13 feet of saltwater, oil and debris.

The water "permeated the columns and arches, weakening the interior brick support and greatly accelerating rust," said Peter Brink, vice president for programs at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In other words, the forces of nature put a historic area in jeopardy.

In response to Ike, and as part of an ongoing effort to save threatened historic sites across the United States, the National Trust has added the Galveston district to its annual list of "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places."